Dangerous Talisman
by ForeverRainingFire
Summary: A new power is rising on the side of evil and it will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good. Chris needs to protect his family, but are they really the ones in danger? As he fights to protect his future and his loved ones, secrets will be revealed
1. Chapter 1

_Author Note: Hey everyone! First off, let me tell you that this is one of my first attempts at anything besides academic writing. I'm planning for this to be a rather long story, so I hope you'll join me for the ride! That being said, I promise not to abandon this fic. I also want to say that I really appreciate any and all reviews. Comments and critiques are the only way I can improve, so please, don't be afraid to speak your mind and tell me want you really think. And if you see any, and I really do mean any, spelling or grammar mistakes, please let me know. Thank you and please enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I obviously don't own any of this. At all. Really, I'm not lying to you. Promise. _

_Summary: A new power is rising on the side of evil and it will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good. Chris needs to protect his family, but are they really the ones in danger? As he fights to protect his future and his loved ones, secrets will be revealed and life will never be the same for the Halliwell family. Takes place prior to the girls and Leo finding out that Chris is a witch and, at this point, no one is really a fan of poor Chris._

* * *

The thin pages of the book turned quickly, the ancient pages crackling with every flip of the page. Frantic hands pawed at the brittle pages, urgency apparent in every move. "Shit, shit, shit," a low voice said, the quiet words breaking through the oppressive silence. The man glanced up at the door leading out of the attic; waiting for the hinges to creak loudly and announce the arrival of one of the witches. Turning his attention back to the book, the man suddenly smiled. _Here it is. This will bring their downfall._

* * *

"Come on, Piper!" Chris pleaded as he followed his charge into the kitchen, "it's just one little demon! Look we can go right now and be back before your cookies even need to be out of the oven!" Leaning on the counter Chris plastered a winning smile on his face that looked more like a grimace. How these people ever got anything done was beyond him.

Piper threw an annoyed glance over her shoulder as walked over to Wyatt's high-chair, settling the toddler in the seat before she started chopping up vegetables for dinner, "Chris, do you know that this demon is going to hurt Wyatt? No. You don't. Things are quiet right now and I don't want to stir up any trouble. _So_ instead of sending us after every demon you see, how about you take some extra time to, you know, focus your efforts. You're always saying how this time travel thing was supposed to be surgical strike, how about we try that with demon hunting too," Piper gave a decisive nod and turned back to her chopping, effectively dismissing her neurotic whitelighter.

"Fine" Chris said, glancing up at the ceiling, scowling once before turning back to Piper, "for now". He shook his head once before he was enveloped in twinkling blue lights. Piper sighed, turning back to her work before she was almost immediately interrupted by the distinctive sound of another set of orbs which deposited her ex-husband in the place where her whitelighter had just stood.

"Hey, Piper," Leo said distractedly, "Have you seen Chris?"

"Ah, yes, he just left," Piper said as Leo walked over to his son and started making faces at the little boy. Wyatt giggled in delight as his father blew out his cheeks like a blowfish, "Why? What's up?" In response Leo made popping sounds at Wyatt. "Leo!" Piper called, miffed that he was ignoring her but happy to see Wyatt and his father together again.

"What? Oh, um, I just wanted to keep tabs on him," Leo turned around to face his ex-wife, a serious expression on his face "I don't trust him. I think he must be up to something—" Piper rolled her eyes as Leo started off on the same tangent he always went on when the subject of Chris came up "—What?" Leo asked, confused.

"Leo, listen, you're just saying the same thing about Chris that you always say; you don't trust him. I understand that, honey, really I do. Actually, I think we all understand that. But nothing's changed, we don't have anything on him, just vague suspicions," Piper walked around the counter to the cabinet and peered inside, "where is it…hmmm… where…. Oh. Left it upstairs. We really need to get two jars of rosemary," Piper turned back to Leo, who had gone back to making faces at Wyatt. Piper smiled softly, reveling in the moment before realizing that she couldn't count on Leo anymore and she couldn't get used to the little domestic scene in front of her. Straightening her back and clearing her throat Piper said, "Leo, I need to go grab the rosemary from upstairs. Can you keep an eye on Wyatt for a sec?"

"Sure, sure, I've got him," Leo picked up his son and started bouncing him on his hip, "in fact I could take him up there for a few hours. You know, just in case you needed a break or something…" Leo trailed off, looking hopefully at Piper.

"Well…I guess, but he needs to be back in time for dinner"

"No problem, Piper, see you in a few hours," said Leo, as he disappeared in a flurry of blue orbs.

Piper sighed as she went off to get the rosemary.

* * *

Chris orbed back into P3 and collapsed onto the couch that served as his bed. His clothes were grimy splattered with a variety of substances, including blood; some of it, his own. Throwing an arm over his eyes he attempted to sleep, but the scenes from his future played like a movie in his head. Full Technicolor. It was getting worse. He could barely sleep and it was affecting his ability to carry out his mission. 'Damn these psychic powers,' Chris thought,' I can't get anything done!' Chris peeked his eyes out from behind his eyes, resigning himself to the lack of sleep. He got onto his feet in one smooth motion. 'like ripping off band-aid,' he thought, before almost stumbling to his knees. 'Okay, maybe that was a bad idea.' Chris grabbed the desk next to his bed to steady himself, breathing deeply before straightening.

"gotta get something to take care of this," Chris groaned, "I can't deal with this right now". His powers were going out of control. These past couple of weeks had been an emotional hell and because of it, his powers were on the fritz. In the beginning, everything had been almost okay. It was hard seeing his mom every day, but the sisters had trusted him because they thought he had saved Paige during that fiasco with the Titans. And most importantly, Leo was out of the way. But now… Leo was back and he was hanging around more and more often. Chris had thought seeing Leo would be the easiest part of coming back to the past. His hate for his father covered him like a warm blanket; he thought he knew what to expect from the man since Leo was actually still alive in Chris' future. But he was wrong. Very, very wrong. This Leo was a completely different person from the one Chris knew. Granted, he was still an Elder and he was still away from his family. But he cared. He really, really cared! In the future Chris had thought that Leo had been there for his mom and Wyatt, even if he had never been there for Chris himself. But now he knew that that his father from the future was only a shadow of his former self. 2003's Leo was there for his family in a way Chris had never thought possible for the man.

This Leo was messing with his head in a major way. He didn't know how to feel about the guy. Should he hate Leo or give him the benefit of the doubt. As it was, Chris felt like he had when he was a child; teetering on the edge of hate, but still searching for his father's approval. Every hateful and suspicious glance his father threw at him cut like a knife and Chris was getting sick of the confusion that plagued him every time he saw his father. It was tearing him apart. Destroying him. Chris sighed, "Nothing I can do about that now. Besides, I know how he's going to turn out. What he's going to become. And he did that all by himself. I just need to concentrate on what I know."

Chris ran his hands through his dark hair, let out a sigh, and closed his eyes making a valiant attempt to center himself before he attempted to orb to the underworld again. He needed to visit his potions guy again to get something to suppress some of his powers at least until he was sure he could control them; especially his premonitions power. For the past few weeks he had been getting almost constant premonitions of the future. His future. A future he had already seen and lived through. And nothing had changed. He was lucky his premonition power didn't work the same way his aunt's did, otherwise the girls would have found out he was a witch a long time ago. Unlike his aunt, he could still function while the premonition played itself out. It was almost like half his consciousness was concentrating on the future while the other half was focused on the present and he had long ago learned to school his features so no one could tell what he was thinking; what he was feeling. But the biggest problem were the dreams. He couldn't sleep because every time he closed his eyes he saw… everything it felt like he was reliving it all. The death, the destruction, the pain. He had to stop it, but he just couldn't deal with seeing everything again and again. 'The Underworld,' Chris thought, 'Potions guy first. Then I need to burn off some steam before I start doing something I regret'. Like running to his mother and crying to her about how much it hurt and how tired he was all the time. Chris grimaced, 'damn, I'm a wreck.'

Just as Chris disappeared in a swirl of blue and white orbs as a pair of floating obsidian eyes appeared, hovering a few feet over the bed. Slowly a tall man began to appear on the bed. His features distorted into something grotesque, before finally solidifying into a handsome face. He smirked slightly before rising from the bed and moving over to the desk. He pulled the drawer all the way out of the desk and set it on the chair beside him. Then crouching down reaching into the space the drawer had left, he strained his arm until he found the right crevice. Smiling, he withdrew a picture, glancing at it briefly before pocketing it. From the same pocket he withdrew a small, wooden box with an ornate symbol on the lid which he placed on the desk before returning the drawer to its rightful place. He drew a deep breath and smiled, letting a look of dark contentment settle on his face. "Oh, Chrissy, we're going to have so much fun," he said to the empty room before he again faded into nothingness, as if he had never been there to begin at all. Only the box, exuding a dark, dark aura as it lay on the desk, remained as a symbol of his presence.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note:_ Thanks to all of you who reviewed, put the story on alert, or just read my work. I would also like to apologize for taking so long to update. I was lazy and then school started and I was getting ready for that which was more crazy than usual because I'm studying abroad this semester. I was supposed to be in Cairo (and I actually was there for two weeks! It was amazing! And I'm so glad Hosni Mubarak is no longer in power!), but I got evacuated out and now I'm in Scotland. Haha big change. Anyway, I'm going to try to write a lot more now that I'm settled in and hopefully it will be a little easier to get chapters up. _

_Summary: A new power is rising on the side of evil and it will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good. Chris needs to protect his family, but are they really the ones in danger? As he fights to protect his future and his loved ones, secrets will be revealed and life will never be the same for the Halliwell family. Takes place prior to the girls and Leo finding out that Chris is a witch and, at this point, no one is really a fan of poor Chris. _

_Last Time: Chris is having trouble getting control some of his psychic power and it's affecting his mission, so he's going to the Underworld to get a potion to fix the problem. Meanwhile, a mysterious man leaves something for Chris in his room at P3._

* * *

Chris orbed into underworld behind a pillar, hoping that there wouldn't be anything in the secluded cavern he had chosen. Pretty, twinkling, blue lights tended to be a free pass for Underworld residents to attack first and ask questions later. Chris had a pounding headache and his stomach felt like it was on the verge of waging a rebellion. He certainly wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore demons than he had to.

Walking quickly toward the edge of the cavern he kept a wary eye out for any sudden movements in the shadows. He had been ambushed by a few low level demons last week and he had no desire to do a repeat performance. They had been hovering in the shadows when he orbed in and they had decided that a mere white-lighter was no match for their fire-power. Though he had gotten away with nary a scratch and the rude surprise they had gotten still made him grin (the look on their faces as they realized what was coming was priceless), he was feeling lower than dirt today and honestly didn't know if he could take on more than a few lower levels. If he ran into someone with more power than a Scavenger Demon, he was screwed.

Chris' lips twitched upwards at his situation. He was no Wyatt, but he was extremely powerful in his own right and he had always been able to hold his own in a battle. He wouldn't be alive today if he couldn't. The funny thing about being in the past, a place where his family was actually alive, was that

he should have had more fire-power backing him up than he'd had in the past four years. But today, he felt more alone than he had ever felt in his own time where none of the Charmed Ones were left to fight with him. His mom and aunts were alive and well in this time, and hell, he even had a non-evil, angelic, paragon of goodness brother here. But he was, alone, sick, and emotionally battered. The past few days ranked among the worst he had felt in his life and now he was worried about a couple of low levels coming to mess with him. He was here to save the world and he didn't even feel like he could save himself; the irony was almost too much to bear.

Chris moved quietly toward the entrance of the cave, pulling an athame out of his pocket and palming it so that it was mostly concealed, but still easily accessible should anyone decide to attack. With his back to the wall, Chris glanced out into the corridor, ensuring it was empty before he stepped out confidently and tried to walk with as much swagger in his step as he could. If he looked like he owned the place, perhaps the demons down here would think that he actually did and no one would mess with him. He shuddered to think what would happen if he actually ran into the demon that did run this part of the Underworld.

As he walked, he kept an eye out for anything that thought he was on that night's menu, but soon the witchlighter allowed his thoughts to turn back to his current power problems. When he had first gotten to the past, his powers had worked perfectly. That was part of the beauty of the spell he had used to get back; unlike most time travel spells, it allowed him to keep all his powers. But after a few weeks in the past, things had started to change. His psychic powers had started to get stronger. At first it hadn't been much of a problem. A vision here or there was nothing new, and dealing with a few more of them than normal hadn't phased him too much. But that soon changed.

Now the visions were coming with startling frequency and he had never had anything near as vivid; everything felt so real. Most of his visions had to do with his future; his horrible, horrible future. But a lot of the visions didn't seem to deal with anything important at all; Piper dropping an apple, Paige looking for her keys, Phoebe breezing out the door to go to work. They all seemed so pointless. Another worrying aspect of the visions was their frequency. Even at her most powerful, Phoebe hadn't had this many premonitions and her visions had actually had a point. His working theory was that, since he didn't belong in this time period, the balance had been thrown off in the world and the visions were just being thrown at him indiscriminately. Most psychics got visions because they were supposed to get them, but he wasn't even supposed to be in this time. Either way he needed something to take care of it before they drove him insane.

He had been to see the demonic potions seller a few times in this period, but he wasn't a huge fan of the guy. In fact, the man was one of Wyatt's most trusted potions makers in the future and Chris had lost many good fighters to this particular demon's brews. However, he was the best and, at least in this time period, was willing to work for either side as long has he was duly compensated. Turning the corner, Chris saw a group of low level demons coming his way. He nodded at them as he passed the group, only releasing his breath in a whoosh once he was out of sight. Thankfully the demons hadn't given him more than a cursory glance-over. Nothing to be worried about since most demons liked to scope out the competition. The entire Underworld functioned almost like a sketchy biker bar. Look at someone the wrong way or show any weakness and you were toast in this world. Chris turned his eyes forward again and realized he was almost at his destination. The Underworld Market was just ahead.

Throwing up the hood on his cloak, Chris bowed his head as he turned the corner to enter the market from one of the lesser used entrances. It wouldn't do to be recognized here among so many demons. Despite the fact that his identity as the Charmed Ones whitelighter was relatively unknown, there were those who knew him by some of his other more unsavory identities and a wrong step would result in a rather painful death. Thankfully, the market was one place in the Underworld where anonymity was sought by the majority. It wouldn't due for your demonic enemies to know that you were purchasing a potion used to steal powers. Kind of ruins the surprise.

Pushing his way through the crowd of demons towards where he knew the potion master's lair was Chris kept one hand on his hood and the other on his weapon. Although, had never had any trouble in the Market before, he needed to be extra vigilant today since his powers were so out of sorts. This thought had just flitted though his head when he was violently thrown to the ground by what felt like a boulder. Looking up from where he had fallen into some substance of questionable origin, Chris' heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach. Of all the worst luck he could have had, he just had to run into Byron.

'_I am so screwed_", Chris thought as he realized that his face had been revealed since his hood had been thrown back. He had worked for Byron a few months back on an undercover mission. He had been sure the info he had given Byron's enemies would have been enough to get the guy taken out, but apparently Byron wasn't as stupid as he looked… or Byron's enemies were _actually_ stupider than they looked; quite an impressive feat to say the least. The guy did look a little worse for wear though.

"Hey, Bryon! Long time, no see, buddy! Is that eye patch new?" Chris said with a cheery lilt to his voice as he took off sprinting as fast as he could. _Didn't know I had it in me_, Chris thought as Byron let loose a guttural roar. Thankfully, Byron actually was as slow as he looked and his hulking body just couldn't bowl other demons out of the way as fast as Chris' lithe frame could maneuver around them.

Reaching a particularly empty part the market place, Chris finally slowed down and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath before flipping his hood back up over his head. _Damn it, _Chris thought grimly, _I guess if you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself_. Chris had been sure that he had given the Satori clan enough information to take his former employer out. Byron was an upper level demon Chris had been trying to get the Charmed Ones to vanquish for months, unfortunately, their lives were still more important to them than their Wiccan duties, so he had been forced to resort to other measures. In the future he would have been able to take Byron out no sweat, but here he didn't want the Elder to catch onto some of his more…. interesting powers. Not to mention, as of late he was definitely not in top fighting form and probably wouldn't even be able to take out a Faerie Demon. So he had devised a way to take two, or three depending on how you looked at it, birds with one stone. Instead of going to the Charmed Ones for every upper level vanquish, he had decided to infiltrate demon ranks and play opposing factions off of each other. That way, the demons would be distracted and killing each other, he would have more time to figure out what got to Wyatt, and the sisters would have more time to do whatever it was they did. It had really worked like a charm until a few weeks ago. Now, it seemed like every demon he had used that trick with was still alive and just dying to get his hands on Chris. It wasn't too hard to figure out that he was the "demon" who had double-crossed them.

He would have to risk using a glamour to go the rest of the way. It would deplete his power stores and there was the risk that a demon would sense the good magic he had used to construct his identity, but it was the only option. He couldn't risk another run-in like the one he had just had with Byron. Even though he had just run away and hadn't actually fought the demon, the pounding in his head had reached jackhammer levels and he felt cold and shaky. It was the only option he had. Glamouring himself to look six inches taller and 200 lbs heavier than he actually was, Chris continued on his way to the potions master. He got a couple of strange looks from a few demons whom could probably sense the whitelighter magic he had used, but we was thankfully allowed to pass unmolested.

The potions master looked up, startled, as Chris walked in the door. He was one of the only tradesmen in the market who required the identity of his customers in order to do business. He figured that the more he knew, the safer he would be, since as well as dealing in potions, he dealt in information – he was one the payroll of a number of high powered demons who would have been very upset if their informant suddenly turned up dead. Frowning as he moved behind the shop's counter the little man said, "Show yourself. You know my rules." White lights surrounded Chris as he returned to his original form and the small man smile an evil smile.

"Ah, my good friend, Chris. What can I do for you today?" he asked as he moved to pick up a vile, "perhaps you need more _Sent of Evil_ to mask that disgusting whitelighter smell? Maybe a few more vials of that Empath blocking potion you like so much. I can get you a special price this time since you're such a good customer."

Chris scoffed as he moved to examine the jars which lined the shelves of the cavern, "please, Dominic, I think you know me better than that. The potion you made to block Phoebe should last for years, if not decades. I'm not stupid enough to fall for your ploys and I'm surprised you would sell your work short like that. You, _my good friend_," said Chris, throwing the man's own words back at him, "are too much of an artist to make the potion at anything less that its full strength."

Laughing, Dominic said, "You are right Christopher. I am used to a lower class of customer here, unfortunately. So what can I do for you today?"

Chris grimaced slightly before turning around with a sly smile on his face. He would need to play this right or else he would be toast. Telling Dominic that his powers were on the fritz, even if the only ones that seemed to be misfiring were his psychic and not his offensive powers, was a sure-fire way to get himself killed. Although Dominic had stayed quiet so far about his relationship with Chris if he sensed any weakness he would probably turn on "his good friend". It had only been Chris' demonstration of his powers, ones he had yet to show the Charmed Ones, and a number of rare ingredients that had bought the demon's "loyalty". He would need to distract the demon in order to ensure he didn't ask too many questions. "Dominic, I'm looking for a very rare and … special potion. I'm not sure even one as great as you would be able to make it." Chris turned back to the potions lining the walls, but not before catching the glint of interest in the old man's eyes and the slight, dissatisfied frown on his face. _Perfect_, Chris thought, _now I just have to reel him in_.

"It's called the Ferikas Serum," Chris continued nonchalantly, as a picked up jar to examine in the light, "and I need it as soon as possible". He could almost hear Dominic's surprise at his words. The man really hadn't been expecting that.

"Chris, you trickster," Dominic burst out with a hearty guffaw, "you really had me going there. I actually thought you were going to ask me for something difficult! I can have that ready for you by next week."

Chris smiled at the old man, a glint in his eye. This was working perfectly. Normally the old man liked to know what he was making a potion for and many times he would even refuse if he didn't like what a demon was going to use his work for. Lying to this demon also wasn't a particularly good idea since he hailed from a demon clan whose sole power was in lie detection. One could almost say that for Dominic making potions was more of an artistic hobby of his and information was what he really dealt in. "Oh, you know me. Gotta keep things lively around here. The Underworld is so dark and depressing. You know, you could really use an interior decorator in here, Dominic, I'm sure you would get more customers if you put in some flowers or something. Maybe a nice area rug?"

Dominic scowled at Chris, "you are the only customer I have who would appreciate something like that. Now get out of here. You're stinking the whole place up with your damn whitelighter magic."

"See you next week then," Chris said, giving Dominic a smile and a wave as he orbed out of the underworld and back to the manor to check on the Charmed Ones.

* * *

Piper was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when she heard the sound of orbs in the sunroom. _That has to be Leo brining Wyatt back_, she thought with a smile, _maybe I'll invite him to stay for dinner_. With a smile on her face Piper walked into the sunroom only to have it fall off the instant she saw Chris.

"Nice to see you too, Piper," Chris snarked before turning to more serious topics. "Where's Wyatt. I'm having trouble sensing him"

Hands on her hips Piper took in her whitelighter's appearance. Frankly he looked terrible too pale, too thin, hair too long, eyes too tired. Normally she didn't really give his appetence a second thought, but his clothes were ripped and dirty, so she really had to take notice and what she saw didn't really make her happy. _What is that boy doing to himself? And why do I feel so guilty that I didn't put a stop to it?_ Brushing off her confusion Piper continued with a tinge of anger in her voice, "what the heck happened to you, mister? You look awful."

"I was in the Underworld," Chris replied with a grimace as he looked down at his clothes,_ great. She just had to notice me today of all days. Better get out of here_. Moving quickly towards the stairs Chris avoided his mother's probing eyes. He needed to check the Book before he went out again to quietly vanquish another demon anyways. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Piper's incredulous look in response to his admission, so he decided to go on the attack, "What! What is the problem with me being in the Underworld? If you won't vanquish demons like you're supposed to, I have to figure out a way to do it for you. One of those ways is to go to the Underworld. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but it's necessary. Or have you forgotten that _there is a demon after Wyatt!_" Turning quickly on his heel Chris ran up the stairs to the Book before she could reply. _Hopefully that'll get her to think a little bit more about the threat to Wyatt and less about cookies… although I could really go for some of her peanut butter cookies right now… Shoot! Wyatt. Why can't I sense Wyatt!_

Chris stopped in the middle of the stairs, looking back over his shoulder. He really didn't want to confront his mother again. Her accusations hurt too much. He was sure that she was about to accuse him of doing something unsavory and sneaky down in Demon Land. Which technically is what he had been doing, buying a potion to suppress your malfunctioning secret powers isn't really on the up and up, but her condemnation still hurt. Never-the-less he had to go back and to see about where Wyatt was. Intellectually Chris knew he really probably shouldn't be worried about it. Piper hadn't even answered the question, so she obviously knew where her son was which, Chris knew, was probably with Leo _Up There_, but he couldn't stop the flare of worry. Wyatt was his brother and the only person Chris had left, even if he was evil, and it was up to Chris to save him. He needed to know where his big brother was so he could get on with the business of saving him.

Sighing, Chris turned around to head back down the stairs. He was almost to the bottom of the steps when he saw Leo orb in with Wyatt. Instantly Chris felt better with little Wyatt in his sights. Leo had his back to him, but Wyatt was looking over his father's shoulder. _He looks like a little angel_, Chris thought as Wyatt's wide baby blues found Chris' green ones. The toddler's face lit up at the sight of Chris and he gurgled happily. Although his big brother hadn't been too sure about Chris when he had first come back to the past, he had warmed up considerably after Chris had saved him from that demonic cult. Chris could see where the kid could have gotten confused. Despite all of his good intentions, Chris hadn't quite worked through all his issues where his older brother was concerned. Although he still loved the older and much eviler version of Wyatt in the future, Chris was still scared of the man and had some mixed feelings. He could never hate his brother, but sometimes Chris didn't even feel like Lord Wyatt was related to him. Then, other times, the goofy, overprotective Wyatt Chris remembered growing up with came back and Chris found himself wondering if Lord Wyatt had ever even really existed. But, of course, one glance outside the window quickly cured him of that fantasy.

Assured of the safety of his older brother, Chris quietly turned around to go back up the stairs, hopeful that Leo wouldn't see that he had been there. Suddenly a scream split the air and the sound of breaking furniture reached his ears. _Mom_, Chris thought frantically before dashing orbing the sun room. Piper had been thrown into the glass table, but she looked fine. She was picking herself up with a murderous expression on her face.

"You did not just do that," Piper growled, before throwing out her hands and blowing up the demon who had tossed her into the table. " That'll show him," she said with a decisive nod of her head before sighing when three other demons came to take the place of the one she had just blown up. "Welcome to the party, boys! But I'm your friend just left. Why don't you join him?" And with that, she blew each of them up.

Chris smiled as he watched his mother fight. She was a great warrior now and she would become even better in a few years. Piper had a protective streak a mile wide, something she had passed on to her oldest child, and when it came to family there were no holds barred. It was a joy to watch his mother alive and in her natural element. After blowing up the last demon, Piper turned to see Chris standing in the doorway, tossing her hair behind her head she said "now what were you saying about me not vanquishing demons. I think I just took four off of your list for you." Chris smiled and went to give her a sarcastic reply when he noticed a disturbance in the air behind Piper, there were more demons shimmering in.

"Piper, look out," Chris called, diving to push his mother to the floor just as a huge fireball came towards them. _That was close,_ Chris thought, _a second later and that would have hit her and it would have left a lot more than a bad burn_. Chris looked over at the demon that had thrown the monster fireball. It was looking at Chris as if he had just killed its entire family, _oh well, just one more enemy to add to an already long list._ Looking down at his mother Chris realized that he might have a bigger problem than the ugly demon in the corner. His mother was pissed, really_ pissed._ Realizing that he was still on top of her, he scrambled to get off with the hope that her glare was not directed at him, but at the demon which had thrown the fireball. He had only tackled her to get out of the way. They stared at each other for a long second before Piper seemed to realize that they were still out in the open and she dragged Chris behind a nearby couch.

"Chris," Piper said, menace in her voice. _ Crap, crap, crap. She is mad_, Chris thought franticly. "Could you go get Paige and Phoebe? I think we might need them. Those are the same demons I just blew up. _Not at me_, Chris thought in relief.

"You got it, Piper. Paige and Phoebe, coming right up," Chris said as he orbed out.

Piper turned her attention back to the group of demons in her sun room, concentrating much more than she had previously. When they had first shimmered in she hadn't really given them much thought. They looked like low level minions and they had made such pretty colors when she had blown them up. The fact that Chris, neurotic, powerless Chris, had had to save her was annoying to say the least. She didn't need anyone to save her or her family, least of all an insane whitelighter from the future. That was the problem; that she had needed saving. Not that the fireball that had almost toasted her had only missed Chris by a fraction of an inch. That was definitely _not _the problem here. Gritting her teeth Piper started to blow up the demons one by one. She only needed to keep them occupied until Chris brought her sisters. They would vanquish the demons and then have a nice family dinner. Like normal people.

A second later Piper heard Chris orb in with Paige and Phoebe in tow. "Okay, then. What have we got here?" Paige asked

"Demons," Chris responded, sarcasm lacing the word

Rolling her eyes at her whitelighter, Paige turned to her oldest sister, "Piper?"

"They won't stay gone when I blow em' up. I think we just need a little sister power to take care of them," Piper responded.

"Okay then," Phoebe chirped, as she ducked to avoid a fireball, "let's get this show on the road! Um, which spell do we want to use?"

"I vote for the _Treblanes Spell_, I really like that one," Paige yelled over the din of fireballs and demon battle cries, "it's short and sweet."

"Okay," Piper said, reaching for her sisters' hands, "_The Treblanes Spell_ it is then"

_Demons, now, hear my cry_

_I send you to the other side_

_Your spirit dead_

_Your body bled_

A great explosion rocked the house as all of the demons blew up at once, each one going up in flames of different colors. The sisters smirked as they looked at each other. "Such a great spell," Paige mused, "we should use it more often."

Piper gave a decisive nod _one thing finished just… 10,000 more to go_, "okay gang, I have dinner almost on the table. Go wash up and we can eat. I made lasagna", she said with a cheery lilt to her voice.

"Yay!" Phoebe cried, "my favorite!" and with that she bounded up the steps to get out of her work clothes.

Piper smiling at her sisters antics turned to Chris, who was looking, surprisingly, somewhat sad and less surprisingly extremely tired. "Chris," she started before being cut off by the young man in question.

"Don't worry, Piper" he said with a tight smile, "I'll be out of your hair in no time. I just have to check something in the Book and then I'll be on my way". He turned around and was half-way up the stairs before Piper found her voice.

"That's not what I was going to say, Chris". The boy stopped and turned around, his eyes wary as he waited to hear what she was going to say. _Were they really that bad to him? He was looking at her as if he expected her to attack him and rip his heart out at any moment. Strange kid. _ "I was going to ask if you wanted to stay for dinner?"

Chris' reaction was almost instantaneous. He let out a choking gasp and his already pale face seemed to whiten even further. Piper watched his reaction with confusion. It was a normal question, especially from her since she loved to feed people. Despite the fact that she wasn't particularly fond of Chris, he had eaten with them before… hadn't he? Looking back, she couldn't remember a single time when he had stayed for dinner. He was never there when they ate. It was kind of odd actually, you would think with all the time he spent at the Manor pestering them about demons, he would have been over at least once during dinner time. Chris' hesitant voice brought her out of her reverie, "maybe some other time, Piper", he said, "I have a lot of work to do and I'm not really feeling well so I don't want to make you guys sick."

Piper frowned, now that she had realized that her whitelighter had never eaten dinner with them, he was not getting out of it so easily. Besides, if he was sick that was all the more reason he should stay to eat her cooking. He was looking a bit on the scrawny side. "Well, then you better conserve your strength. A good meal will help."

B-but, Piper, I—" his mother's glare stopped him in his tracks. There was no way he was getting out of this one. Once his mother set her mind there was no changing it. When Chris had been six years old Piper had heard a news story about how playing the piano increases brain activity and encourages the imagination. He and Wyatt had been at piano teacher's house the next day for lessons. Chris gulped and dragged up a smile, "okay, Piper, I'll just go wash up then."

"There are some spare clothes you can change into in my room. Closet on the left," Piper said, eyeing the Underworld grime covering the clothes Chris had on.

"Uh… Thanks, Piper," Chris said with a grimace as he contemplated wearing his father's old clothes. This was not going to be a fun night for him he thought with a sigh before dragging his feet up the stairs

* * *

Deep in the Underworld, a giant of a man appeared in a column of fire, murder in his eyes. He was a demon of well over seven feet with black hair even darker eyes. He had blood streaming down the side of his face and he was missing an arm, which even as he began pacing around elegant room he had appeared in, began to regenerate itself. He gave out a guttural roar as some of his followers appeared around him, all casting fearful glances at their Lord and Master. "Those damn witches," he grumbled, "Will pay for this and all their previous transgressions against us. They will be destroyed. Next time we will bring more reinforcements. Twenty or thirty more demons should do the trick nicely."

"Lord Vikron," murmured a nearby demon, "if I may make a suggestion?"

Vikron stopped his pacing and turned to look at the demon who had spoken, ready to destroy him where he stood. Farzan. One of his most trusted advisors and the only demon who could have interrupted him at that moment and kept his head. Even Vikron's own brother would have not gotten off without a painful warning.

Although he had few powers and, for a demon, was physically very weak, Farzan's mind was razor sharp had he had worked his way up his clan's hierarchy to become Vikron's right hand man. He was trickster and most demons felt unthreatened by him – at least they felt safe until the reaper said hello and they realized they were dead. Vikron nodded, and tilted his head in anticipation. Whatever Farzon had to say was worth listening to.

Farzon smiled slightly before beginning, "My Lord, we know that the Charmed One's power comes from their bond as sisters. We also know that many before us have tried to break them up in order to destroy them. This has and will fail every time. However, there is another way to weaken them before we strike the killing blow. The whitelighter." Farzon looked up at his Lord and saw that he had aroused the demon's interest. "A witch's whitelighter is a very important part of her ability to be effective. He is her source of information, healing, and encouragement. And, of course, you saw the way the whitelighter today saved the eldest, Piper, from your attack."

Vikron smiled then, slow and menacing, "I hate whitelighters," he growled, "let's go find him."

* * *

_Author Notes: I know there didn't seem to be much forward momentum in the plot, but I didn't want to let this chapter get too long. I'm planning to put in some more action next chapter and hopefully I'll get that one up in the near future. Let me know what you think about the story so far! Review, pretty please!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note**: _Hey guys! Again, sorry for the major delay; I have no excuses… you know, except for the evils of college homework and whatnot. Also, pure laziness – I'm the queen of lazy. Anywho, on with the chapter! _

**Summary**_: A new power is rising on the side of evil and it will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good. Chris needs to protect his family, but are they really the ones in danger? As he fights to protect his future and his loved ones, secrets will be revealed and life will never be the same for the Halliwell family. Takes place prior to the girls and Leo finding out that Chris is a witch and, at this point, no one is really a fan of poor Chris._

**Recap**: Last time on Dangerous Talisman,_Chris went to the underworld and ordered a potion to block his malfunctioning powers. Chris, Leo, and Piper were attacked by demons with the power to regenerate. Said demons are now, understandably, pissed after their defeat and are now gunning for Chris under the impression that if they take him out, the sisters will be easy(ier) pickings. Oh, and Chris was invited to his first family dinner in the past!_

* * *

Chris made a face at himself in the mirror as he finished buttoning up one of the faded flannel shirts he had found in Piper's room. It obviously belonged to Leo and Chris was none too pleased to be wearing it. He looked longingly at his long sleeved shirt lying on the floor; he had considered keeping it on when he realized exactly whose clothes he would be borrowing, but he figured Piper would go into a snit if he tried to sit down to dinner with demon guts hanging off his clothing. Besides, the shirt was beyond saving. With a casual flick of his hand, Chris sent the shirt careening into the wastebasket before heading down the stairs.

He _did not want_ to have dinner with his family tonight. In fact, he never wanted to have dinner with his family – at least not in this time line. There was no use in becoming comfortable with his family here. He was determined to save his brother, his family, and the world with his mission, but if he failed and had to go back to the future he saw in his dreams every night, it would tear him apart. Another, smaller, part of him whispered that he was lying to himself. That wasn't the real reason. Any second he could spend with his family was precious, even if he had to go back to that hell on earth Wyatt had created.

If he were honest with himself and, let's face it, he and honesty hadn't really been the best of buds for quite a while, he was scared. No. That was a lie. He was terrified. He remembered the world as it used to be and he remembered his family as they used to be. He didn't fit anymore and he probably never would again. These people didn't live in a world shrouded by evil; a world where demon armies covered every inch of the globe. A place where good magic had been pushed almost to extinction and Chris' small resistance was the last hope for the world as it was today. If they knew about even a fraction of the things he had done, he _knew_ that no matter who he was, they would never want to see him again. Hell, he wouldn't want to see him again. But he also knew that if his family rejected him like that he wouldn't be able to survive it. Distance was necessary.

He should have fought harder against staying for dinner. He was too tired and too vulnerable with his emotions and powers on the fritz. But when Piper had asked, that slight look of concern on her face, he had been reminded of _his_ mother, _his_ Piper, as she had been before the world spiraled out of control. He hadn't been able to resist. But he _had _to. He _had_ to. He would just have to tell Piper that he was tired or something; anything to get out of this blasted dinner. Then he hit the bottom of the stairs.

The smells and sounds of his childhood assaulted him and tore down all the defenses he had just spent the last minutes carefully constructing. Chris took the moment to savor the feeling of warmth and _safety_ those sounds and smells brought him. Suddenly he was thirteen again; his mother was alive and his older brother's sanity was still intact. The smell of his mom's famous lasagna just coming to perfection in the oven, the melodic sounds of his aunts' laughter, and his father's deep baritone. Chris frowned at that last one. _Leo_ was not part of his childhood, his family, or his life. Thinking of _that man_ should not give him warm fuzzies in the same way thinking about the rest of his family did. Leo had _never_ been there for him. Chris could count the number of times his father had come for dinner on one hand and even then the man had normally left half-way through. Frowning, Chris attributed the minor aberration to the general wonkiness of his life lately. Once he got his powers under control, everything else would go back to normal too, including his crazy emotions.

Drawn by those happy feelings from his childhood, Chris had walked into the kitchen before he even realized what he was doing.

* * *

Leo looked up from where he was bouncing Wyatt on his knee to see his least favorite whitelighter come into the kitchen. The boy had a strange expression on his face; it was somehow… Leo didn't know the word… relaxed. That wasn't quite right, there were other elements as well… he just couldn't figure out what they were. Frowning, Leo placed his son into his highchair and made his way over to the young man; he had quite a few things to discuss with the boy. "Chris, can I talk to you for a moment," Leo said.

Chris slowly turned to looked over at the older man, his face shifting instantly from the odd expression to the carefully blank mask he had worn since he had arrived at the Halliwell house all those months ago. Leo was frankly amazed at the young man's ability to school has expressions. He supposed he had seen Chris do it before, but this moment stood out. The expression Chris had previously had on his face was more open than Leo had ever seen before that the change in expression was startling. Chris shrugged, "I suppose", he said, turning around to amble out of the room again.

Leo followed the younger man, marshalling his thoughts as he went. He really had to play this right. He had done some thinking while he was Up There with Wyatt. Piper was right, he really didn't have anything concrete on the girls' whitelighter and he certainly wasn't going to get anything out of him by throwing accusations at him every time he saw the kid. A new plan was in order. Leo _did not_ trust Chris and he probably never would. He _knew_ Chris was hiding something and he was sure that those somethings did not bode well for the Halliwells; hidden agendas never did. So, instead of using vinegar to catch Chris he was going to bring out the honey. It wouldn't be easy given that he and Chris had disliked each other almost on sight, but he knew how to lay on the charm. He had been an experienced whitelighter before becoming an Elder and part of that job included lying. Not to mention, he hadn't been called the Sun God in during the 60's for nothing.

"So…what did you want to talk to me about?" Chris asked, turning to look at the Elder, arms crossed and shoulders back; the picture of defiance.

Leo chewed on his lower lip, looking down at his feet as if unsure as to where to begin, _this isn't going to be easy. I have to play this right_. _He needs to trust me and think that I trust him_. "Chris," Leo said softly, "I've been thinking a lot lately… and…well, I think I've been unfair to you." Here Leo sighed, trying to convey his reluctance in the sound; Chris would be suspicious at a total 180. Glancing up at the younger man, Leo tried to gauge his reaction. There was no real change in his posture, but his eyes held a hint of confusion and the beginnings of hope. _It's working! I've hooked him, now I just have to reel him in._

"We… well… I didn't trust you when you first came here because I was upset that you were taking over my place in the girls' lives and then everything with Piper happened… of course Valhalla didn't help any, but I was just blaming you because you were there and I didn't know who else to blame…" Leo sighed again, "I want to start with a clean slate. After everything you've done for me and the girls even when we haven't been the most supportive…I know now that I was wrong and that you were only trying to protect the girls… what I'm really trying to say is that I trust you, Chris."

Leo looked up at Chris again. The whitelighter's eyes still showed a hint of distrust and shock, but the predominate emotion there was hope. His posture lacked its earlier defiance as well; his shoulders were more relaxed and his hands were hanging loosely at his sides. Leo had been afraid that he had laid it on too thick at the end, but his words seemed to be having the effect he wanted. _If you tell people what they want to hear, they tend to believe you_, Leo thought, _it seems sneaky whitelighters from the future are the same. Time to wrap this up_. "I know that this won't fix everything, but I'm hoping this is a start. I was wondering… do you want to get a drink tomorrow at the club?"

"…I … um… yeah… t-that would be good." Chris mumbled

"Great!" Leo said brightly giving Chris a slap on the back. "So I'll meet you at 6 tomorrow at the bar. We better get back to everyone else or they might start thinking that I've done something awful to you in here" he chuckled. The Elder turned and began walking back into the dining room.

* * *

Chris stared at Leo's back as he walked out of the room. That had been… unexpected. It was strange, suspicious, even. But Chris wanted to believe that his father, that _Leo_, was coming to trust him. It would make his job much easier. _I can't trust him though_, Chris thought to himself, _he's already taught me that I can't_. He would have dinner tonight and get a drink with his father tomorrow in order to cement this new direction, but he would _not, he would __**not**__,_ let himself get caught up in the moment. He had dealt with Leo's false promises his entire life and he wasn't about to forget the lessons of his childhood so easily.

Chris sighed as he let himself fall backwards onto the couch and buried his face into his hands. _No, no, no_. Leo couldn't do this to him now. When Leo had invited him out for a drink, even though he wanted to deny it, he knew his heart had almost leapt out of his chest. His father had never, ever invited him out to do anything. This was something he had wanted for most of his life and just when he was coming to terms with the fact that his father would never care about him like he cared for Wyatt and Piper, Leo did something like this. No matter what he told himself or how many times he warned himself not to let himself get too close, he was definitely in danger of losing control of his emotions when it came to his family.

Chris felt like he didn't know up from down when it came to his father. He wanted Leo to love him like a father should, but he also knew that was impossible. It had to be impossible. His father hadn't loved him when he _knew_ Chris was his son, how much more should he hate Chris now? When he didn't even know who Chris was? When Chris had first arrived in the past, he had hoped that his family might recognize him; that they would feel some kind of connection and know that he was a Halliwell too. Those hopes had died quickly in the face of their unrelenting suspicion. It had _hurt_. It had hurt so badly and he had just wanted to straight back to the future. Even though the future was literally hell on earth, Bianca and the rest of the freedom fighters were there … and he at least had good memories of his mother and aunts in the future, while here he had three strangers who _hated_ him. But he got through their hatred then and he would get through this sudden change of heart now. Chris sighed as he got up to go into the dining room – the only problem was that he wasn't sure he could survive it if they suddenly turned on him again.

* * *

Piper looked up as Chris came back into the room. He had a very strange expression on his face. It was closed but he also looked… hmmmm… what was the word? Anxious? Scared? Maybe a combination of both, she decided. Glancing over at her ex-husband who had a rather smug look on his face (she could tell. To anyone else it looked "Elder Serene," but Piper knew Leo's expressions like the back of her hand) and wondered what on Earth he had said to Chris. She was slightly worried about what might be going on between the two of them. Leo could be sneaky when he wanted to, and Chris was probably his least favorite person at the moment. She chewed her lip in concentration for a moment before opting to let it play out by itself. She didn't like Chris and she trusted Leo not to do anything too horribly awful to the boy. Besides, maybe Leo's plan, whatever it was, would help them figure out a little something about Chris. She was getting tired of the "enigmatic whitelighter" shtick.

"Dinner's ready in five," she announced, "could someone set the table?" Looking around she didn't expect anyone to start moving without a little more prodding from her, but to her utter surprise, Chris immediately moved towards the plate cabinet without hesitating. _That was… odd. How did he know… Oh, well at least someone has manners_, she thought glaring at her sisters until they started to move with the requisite groaning.

Finally the last plate was on the table and the lasagna was sitting in the middle of the table. Piper looked around as everyone sat down in their usual spots. "Chris, I'm going to go get you a chair from the conservatory, just wait a second, okay?" Piper called over her shoulder at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but she cut him off with a glare. _He was not getting out of this_. She pulled the chair into position between her place and where Leo was sitting.

"You know," Chris started, "I really should do some more work and I don't want to intru—"

"Nope," Piper interrupted cheerfully, "you have to stay for this. Besides, you said you thought you might be coming down with something so you shouldn't be doing anything but resting anyway. This is resting. So sit." When Chris still looked like he was going to protest, Piper went over, grabbed his wrist, and physically dragged him over to his chair. Part of the reason she was insisting so hard that stay for dinner was not entirely altruistic since he would serve as a buffer between her and Leo. He would also serve as a distraction for her ex.

"Dig in," she instructed, serving him a rather large helping of her lasagna. The expression on Chris' face plainly said 'I would rather be anywhere but here' while the expression on hers just as clearly said, '_you are staying for this entire dinner and you are going to eat everything on your plate and LIKE IT'_.

* * *

Chris looked at the steaming pile of lasagna on his plate and sighed. He knew that look. He had seen it on her face every time she told him that he had to finish his homework before messing around online or that he needed to do his chores before going out to the movies. It was a look that told him that he was _not _going to win. Picking up his fork, Chris resigned himself to a long night with his family. Someone Up There really hated him, and he hated them right back. Arrogant bastards.

Sending a glance in his fath— in _Leo's_ direction, Chris tried to work through what had happened earlier. What the heck did this mean? There was no way this was legit, right? Or maybe it was… Leo had seemed pretty sincere, but that didn't really mean anything. Leo had been sincere when he had promised Chris he would be there for his 7th birthday party, or his soccer match in 9th grade, or when he had told Chris that they would go camping for his 14th birthday. None of it was true… but… but, this Leo was different. He might really mean it in this time period… grrrr! He hated time travel. Why the heck were people so different here?

"—is, Chris, _Chris_"

"Ah, what? Sorry, Paige, I guess I was just thinking about something."

"I'll say. You seemed to be off in your own little world. What I wanted to ask what kind of things you liked to do – ah! Don't take it like that," she said, seeing his face cloud, "I don't want any future consequences stuff – more like… hobby stuff. You know, since you're our whitelighter and we really don't know the first thing about you and all."

Chris sat there for a second in confusion. _Hobbies, they wanted to know about his hobbies? What was up with today?_

"Oh, come on. Are your hobbies really going to give us all the dark secrets about the future?" Phoebe said, exasperated.

"Um…ah, no. I was just… surprised," Chris said, scratching the back of his head, "I'm thinking."

"You have to think about what kind of things you like to do," Paige asked, slightly amused.

Chris wanted to blow up at her. Yell that he had been essentially on his own since age 14 and _oh, I'm sorry. I guess I just haven't had time to figure out if I like tennis or soccer better with the world falling apart!_ But he didn't. They didn't understand here. He hadn't been asked a question like that in years. He couldn't imagine many people answered those sorts of questions anymore in his future. Of course, it was kind of nice to think that people could still care about that sort of thing here. So he didn't yell and scream and complain, instead, he calmly said, "I guess reading… I read a lot."

"Smart guy, huh," commented Phoebe, "what do you like to read?"

_Demonology textbooks_. "Mostly non-fiction, I guess." Chris shrugged, _where are they going with this_?

After a few more awkward questions to Chris, the sisters finally realized they weren't really going to get much out of him and nothing that was going to get the conversation going, so they turned to other subjects and Chris was relieved. Some of this sort of thing was okay, it was… cathartic – too much and it just painful, but this little bit was okay, he thought. He wasn't like them. He could pretend all he wanted, but he wasn't and never would be. He let the conversation flow around him without really listening. He was really tired and he couldn't be bothered to worry too much about his mission at the moment. _Tomorrow_, he thought, letting his eyes fall closed

* * *

Leo looked over at Chris to ask him a question, but was surprised to see that his breathing was deep and even and that his eyes were closed. "Huh, looks like he really was tired," Leo commented.

"He's asleep!" Piper exclaimed, looking over at her whitelighter and then grumbled, "at least he finished his lasagna." She got up and took Chris' plate with her to put in the dishwasher. To fall asleep at the dinner table when he was normally so alert and anxious, he must have been really exhausted.

As she walked back into the dining room, she caught sight of Leo studying the sleeping whitelighter with an odd expression on his face. She was still conflicted about both Leo and Chris, but after today she was feeling just a little bit more charitable towards her whitelighter. It wouldn't hurt to be a little nicer to him, now would it? "Leo," she said, moving over to her ex-husband, "could you orb Chris up to one of the spare rooms, please?"

Leo made a face, but put his hand on Chris' shoulder in order to orb him upstairs. Chris, however, immediately startled out of his sleep and stumbled out of his chair, looking around blearily. "Sorry," he croaked out, sleep coloring his voice, "what's going on? Where's the demon?"

"Nowhere, Chris," Piper said gently, "Leo was just about to orb you up to the guest bedroom to sleep."

Chris blinked at her owlishly while his sleep fogged brain tried to process that sentence. "Oh…uh, well, no need for that now. I'm going to head back to P3. There's some stuff I need to take care of," Chris said, already beginning to orb, "Later."

Piper _humped_ as blue orbs spirited her whitelighter away, "that boy works too hard. He's going to make himself sick! Maybe we should try to be a little nicer to him" She mused as she turned and walked into the kitchen, Leo following.

"Piper," Leo began, intent on warning her that trusting Chris was the wrong thing to do. He knew that despite her tough exterior, Piper had a soft spot for helpless things. Chris might look helpless right now, but Leo knew better. The boy was a viper, just waiting to strike.

"Yeah?" Piper asked, looking over her shoulder.

"It's just that Chr—"But then Leo stopped. He wanted to warn her and tell her exactly what Chris was and his plans to uncover the ruse, but he realized that it wouldn't do anything but exasperate her. Nothing had changed from earlier in the day when she had reminded them that he had no evidence on Chris. It would be easier if Piper just though he was following her advice. Looking up at Piper again he saw she was giving him a strange look.

"Yes, what about Chris," she pressed.

"Oh, I was just thinking that you're right about him. He really does work too hard." Leo gave her his best '_I'm an Agent of Goodness and I Always Tell the Truth_'look. "He did look really sick today," Leo continued.

Piper looked surprised and then a little suspicious, but she shrugged and turned to take some cookies out of the oven.

Leo looked at his wife… his _ex-wife_. He really did love her. She was so beautiful and strong and caring. He would do anything to have her in his arms again… he sighed. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon, he knew. He was needed Up There and the need to fight for the 'Greater Good' trumped everything else, no matter his personal desires. And just in time to reinforce this thought, he heard the other Elders jingling in his head.

"Piper," he said, softly, "I've got to go. They're calling."

Piper didn't turn around from where she was mixing cookie dough at the counter. "So go," she said, "I know they need you."

Leo gave his wife one last sad look before orbing out to do his duty.

Piper continued to mix the batter as hard as she could. Willing herself not to cry. After spending so much time with Leo tonight in a way that they had done together hundreds of times as a family, she was reminded of exactly what she was missing when he left again.

* * *

After orbing back to P3 and collapsing on his couch-cum-bed Chris slept fitfully and woke up feeling almost more tired than he had before he had fallen asleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and tried to not think about that "family dinner" at the manor. He needed to concentrate on defeating as many demons as possible. Protecting Wyatt was the _only _thing that mattered. As long as his emotions weren't affecting his work, he didn't need to think about them. The only problem was that they _were _affecting his work. Damn it. Everyone knew that your emotions and your powers were connected. Until he got control of himself or got that potion, he would be in for a rough time.

Chris rolled to his feet and strode over to his desk. He could at least get some research done. Chris jerked to a stop when he saw the strange box on his desk. He could feel it from here. He was surprised he had been able to fall asleep with it in the room; the thing just _exuded_ Dark Magic. Cautiously Chris started to make his way forwards; he needed to be careful – he didn't know what this thing was, who it came from, or what it would do to him if he got too close or he touched it. Chris let a tendril of his magic out to caress the box, probing it and exploring it. It was much safer, though not exactly safe, to use magic to examine the thing instead of his hands.

Touching just the edge of the box with his magic, he didn't exactly feel pain, but he knew the box wasn't benign either. Deciding to chance it, he delved deeper with his magic. And then he felt it. There was something in there that was calling out to him. Chris reached out a hand before he even knew what he was doing. His fingertips were just hovering over the box when a loud crash from outside the room and a great deal of inventive swearing brought him out of the trance. He let out a breath. God damn that thing was dangerous. He resolved not to touch it until he learned _a lot _more about it. Books first, he resolved, after that then he could mess around with the Dark Magic Box to his heart's content.

He looked up as he heard another thump. Maybe that was Jack, coming in to set up for the night. He looked at his watch and frowned; it was a little bit too early to be setting up for the night, but Chris shrugged and started out into the main bar area to see if he could help out. He didn't really want to deal with the box now. Doing something besides demon stuff was just what he needed right now.

Opening the door Chris realized he should have gone with his instincts to be suspicious. There must have been twenty demons out in the main bar area. _Shit_, he thought, _I can't take on this many right now and get all of them without all my powers. Leave just one alive and the whole Underworld will know that the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter was not exactly what he seemed to be. _Before he could do anything else, an energy blast from the biggest demon threw Chris back into P3's office.

"Well, well. Hello, Little Whitelighter," the demon said, "what do we have here. All alone without protection? Well I guess this will be easier than I thought." He gestured to someone behind him and a Darklighter Chris had failed to notice at first entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Chris looked up at the demon from his prone position on the floor, rage coursing through his veins. "Hardly," he hissed, flicking a hand at an athame sitting on his on his desk so it flew straight at the Darklighter, impaling him in the heart and turning him to ash instantly.

The demon looked at him in surprise, "you shouldn't be able to do that," he said, advancing on the Witchlighter still on the floor, "how in the Underworld did you do that?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out," Chris replied, orbing behind the demon and blasting him with the molecular combustion power he had inherited from his mother. The demon stumbled forward, falling onto his knees, but he didn't seem anything more than a little scorched.

"Crap," Chris said succinctly.

"Not very good at that are you?" the demon asked, tossing his blond hair out of his eyes, "guess I won't need my friends after all."

No, Chris reflected, he wasn't very good at that; not even in the future when his emotions hadn't been wreaking havoc with his powers, but still, it should have worked better than it had. This guy didn't look that powerful and the blast should have killed him. He needed to get his powers fixed. Stat. Then the second part of the what the demon had said filtered through is mind. "Where are your buddies," he asked, almost conversationally.

"Oh, they're waiting for me," the demon replied, smirking as he walked towards Chris again, "I wanted to do this without their help – only Charlus, the darklighter you killed, would have shared in my glory. But I suppose I can bring you back to Lord Vikron myself. More glory for me."

"Oh, sounds like a plan," Chris said, leaping forward and plunging an athame deep into the demon's chest, "or not."

As the demon crumbled to ash beside him Chris flipped the athame and tucked it back into the holster hidden under his sleeve. Sneaking over to the door he cracked it open a little and peeked through. All the demons were just sitting there looking a bit bored. Actually, they were sitting there, drinking Piper's booze, and looking a bit bored. _Morons, _Chris thought scathingly, w_ell time to go get the Charmed Ones. _He sighed an orbed out, never noticing that, at some point during the fight, he had picked up the mysterious box from his desk.

* * *

**Author's Note**_: So, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Hopefully it didn't have many mistakes – I wanted to get it posted quickly and didn't do as thorough a job proof-reading as I maybe should have. Anyway, Things should be, hopefully, picking up from here on out. I just want to let you all know that the extra powers Chris has actually do have something to do with the story – Chris won't just randomly be EpicPowers!Chris – though I do like EpicPowers!Chris. He'll have more powers than he had in the show, but he won't be All Powerful and he won't just have extra powers with no real explanation. There is a method to my madness. Erm, anyway, sorry about the major delay on this chapter; I have no excuse. I'm just lazy. And I can't promise that the next chapter will be more timely; all I can tell you is that I'll never abandon this story and that at some point in the nebulous and amorphous future, the story will be completed. Anyway, I'm graduating from college in May (provided I don't fail Oceanography), so I hope to have another update before that happens (but no promises)._

_REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! If you do, maybe I'll be motivated to update before the world ends in December!_


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